Disconnected
by caileadair
Summary: Sakura has learned to disconnect herself from her emotions due to the tragedies in her life. Can the scarred Hunternin ever be brought back by those that care for her? SakuraxKakashi. Rated for later chapter and violence.
1. The HunterNin

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, blah blah blah...

Chapter One: The Hunter-Nin

A lone girl stands perched precariously on a tree limb in a crouching position. She is small, unusually thin, well toned and straight backed. Dressed in the black form fitting uniform of her rank, she is a silhouette against the last dying embers of the sunset. All save for a mask that covers her face completely, a mask with the benign expression of some sort of small, peaceful creature. The girl seems like she is part of the forest surroundings, merely a shadow that is momentarily still.

Suddenly the girl's face points westward, towards the sinking sun. In a flash of pink hair, she has disappeared, off to hunt her prey. She tracks him quickly, quietly, jumping through the trees. But she can smell fear in the air, and she knows that he knows that he is being followed. Just as the man comes into her sight, he twists in the air, making a futile attempt with taijitsu to overcome his stalker. But she is stronger and faster. She counters all of his weak attempts to strike her, herself managing to land many blows on the nin's body, hearing bones splinter beneath the skin under the chakra-enforced hits.

She finally stands over the subdued shinobi, as he gasps for each breath on the ground, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. She stares coldly into the fear-filled eyes below the Konoha forehead protector, slashed horizontally through the the small swirled symbol. The ANBU crouches down beside the dying body, a long pink braid slung over her right shoulder, the tips barely reaching the body, tainting them with his blood. She draws chakra into her hand, and as the final killing blow tears through the chest of her prey, she lets out a small sigh.

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The 5th Hokage sighed wearily as she leaned her head down onto her fists on her desk. The desk was scattered with papers and folders, all reports from Konoha's shinobi on recent missions. The youthful-looking busty woman glowered at all the papers she still had to go through, wondering where Shizune was and why she wasn't in here helping with all the paperwork. However, there was a more pressing, breathing matter to attend to across her desk. Tsunade glanced up at the Hunter-nin who stood before her, freshly back from a mission, still in her ANBU uniform.

The ANBU stood In a relaxed, yet alert pose, her mask still covering her face. Tsunade glared at her for a moment and then said, "Haruno, could you please remove that mask?"

The woman complied immediately, sliding the mask up to rest on top of her head. A pair of large, green intelligent eyes stared back at the Hokage. Tsunade walked around her desk to stand in front of the woman. She ran a finger down the long scar that ran horizontally underneath the kunoichi's right eye.

"Sakura, I wish you would've let me heal that…there would be no scar to remind you."

The ANBU merely shrugged, indifference in her cold eyes. The Hokage sighed and returned to her position around the desk to address the business at hand. Her eyes held a touch of anger in them, but mainly sympathy for the pink haired ninja in front of her. She glanced at the tip of Sakura's braid, the pale pink darkened by blood.

"You are excellent at what you do Sakura. You are unsurpassed in Genjutsu, a formidable enemy in taijutsu and Ninjutsu and you are also a quite accomplished med-nin. However, is it too much to ask that every once in a while you attempt to bring in the specified missing-nin alive? Some may hold valuable information."

Sakura continued to stare across the desk, her eyes cold and uncaring.

"I would bring them in alive, if they would be intelligent enough to not try and kill me."

Tsunade shook her head ruefully, remembering the girl from 8 years ago, when she had first asked to be trained by her. She had been insignificant at the time, overshadowed by the other members of her cell, feeling useless. She had also been loving and caring, always cheerful and laughing. The kunoichi in front of her held not a shadow of that former self. The Kunoichi in front of her was an expert killer, a genius shinobi, a great asset to Konoha, and she never smiled.

"You may go. Report back in 3 days. And I mean 3 days. You need to take a break. You've had 6 missions in a row." Tsunade commanded from behind a stack of papers.

"I'm fine. I don't need a break."

"I say you do, so you do. Now Go."

The ANBU bowed once, and in a blur of black and pink, was gone from the office.

Tsunade sat down stiffly at her desk and picked up the top piece of paper from the tallest stack

"Genin Mission Report: Weeding garden for…." Tsunade gave another loud annoyed sigh.

"Shizune!"


	2. Looking Back

Disclaimer: Yep, you guessed it, I don't own 'em

Chapter 2: Looking Back

Sakura walked silently through the streets of Konoha that were already filling with citizens and ninja alike doing their Sunday shopping in the market. She saw faces she recognized in the crowd…Ino and Shikamaru…Tenten and Lee…people she was Genin with, Chuunin with, people that used to surpass her when she was young…and weak. She gave a curt nod to Shikamaru, head of tactics in ANBU. As it was Sunday, he was not in uniform as she was. To everyone else, she merely glanced over them, long enough to detect the pity she saw in their eyes. "They think I am not strong enough to handle myself?" She game a small humorless laugh as she thought to herself, "They do not know me."

She reached her apartment quickly, she was tired from her long journey across Fire Country and wished for a hot bath to soothe aching muscles. Her chakra was near depleted, but she used a little more to travel the 4 flights up to her apartment a little quicker. Fumbling inside a pouch for a key, she finally unlocked her door and stepped into the stale air. She'd not been inside for a few weeks.

The apartment was functional, and that was all she needed. A small dark bed was situated in the far right corner, directly across from the small kitchenette. A narrow door to the left led to the bathroom, and there was a chair in front of a closed window. There were no decorations, no pastel colors, only useful items and neutral tones.

Sakura shut the door gently behind her and dropped her small pack to the floor next to the door. She went immediately to the bathroom and turned on the shower water as hot as It would go and began stripping off her uniform and wrappings.

Her body was etched with scars, some deep, some shallow. But 2 were the most prominent. One was, of course, the scar across her cheek, the other a long scar that stretched across her back, extending from her left hip up to her right shoulder. Both injuries could have been healed to where they would know show no scar. She instead refused treatment of both, keeping them as souvenirs, reminders. One was a reminder of why she needed to be stronger, one a reminder of why she needed to be uncaring and cold in her life as a shinobi in service to her country.

Cold. Barely human. A shell, with 2 katanas strapped to her back and senbons at her side. Her large emerald eyes closed briefly as she thought about her past, her friends. The people on the street shied away from her. Everyone knew of the occurrences that have made her into what she is today. Even Ino, once one of her closest friends knew to stay away. The only one who didn't was Naruto, but he was gone, hiding from the Akatsuki while training with Jiraiya-sama. Everyone else was told strictly to stay away from the kunoichi who was in so much obvious pain. The Hokage thought she didn't know about the order, but she'd overheard shinobi.

"Tsunade-sama says to leave her be until she approaches one of us…" That order had been after the first death, the death at her hands, the first person she had ever killed. After the death of her parents shortly thereafter, Sakura threw herself into missions and training, making ANBU at the age of 18, accepting every unranked mission offered and never looking back. No one ever dared approach her. And she didn't want them to. They reminded her of the old Sakura, the weak Sakura. The kunoichi who couldn't even protect her own parents…

She stepped into the steaming shower, the hot water beating against her flesh, feeling like thousands of senbons piercing her skin. Instead of shying away from the painful heat, she tuned her face up into the water, scalding her skin to a painful pink. "Yes…I can feel this…I can feel I still exist…" Sakura closed her eyes and thought back to the day of the first death…

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Sakura jumped out of her bed excitedly and threw back the curtains at her window, staring down at the streets of Konoha in the early morning dawn. She hurriedly put on her brand new Jounin uniform, having earned the rank just the day before. She made certain that there was not a single wrinkle in the black pants or shirt and gave a final tug on the green vest, making sure all her weapons were in place. Her kunai pouch on her left side, her senbons on the right, and a single rose colored katana strapped to her back.

"Sakura! Come down and get some breakfast before your mission!" She heard her mother's cheerful voice from downstairs. Sakura quickly tied her hair back and put on the finishing touch, her forehead protector that announced her as a Leaf shinobi, before bounding down the stairs.

After a quick breakfast Sakura walked through the streets of Konoha leisurely, knowing that in her eagerness for her first Jounin mission, she had left at least a half hour too early. Besides, if she knew her old Sensei, he would probably at least as equally late as she was early. Naruto, who had made Jounin the year before her, she knew would probably be exactly on time, running to get there after an early morning breakfast of ramen. She passed several shops opening as she went on her way, nodding and smiling at all the people out early. "This is what I am protecting." Sakura thought to herself.

She arrived at the Jounin headquarters 25 minutes early and took a seat at a small table inside, relaxing while she waited for her other team members to arrive. While she was waiting, the room slowly began to fill up with other Jounins, some here to meet team members such as she, others here to receive orders. She was thinking of the mission at hand, an escort mission to the Sand Country. A B rank mission, at best, but still her first one in the navy and green Jounin uniform. Her reverie was interrupted suddenly by a pair of strong hands grasping her shoulders tightly before whispering in her ear.

"Sakura-san…the kunoichi of my dreams…"

She turned quickly to see a tall Jounin with chin length chestnut hair grinning at her, his lips playing with a senbon in his mouth. She pretended to glare at him for a moment. "Genma! You scared the hell out of me!"

He threw his hands up in the air. "Hey, no hard feelings. You know I wouldn't upset you on purpose, I'm intelligent, I know you can throw me through that wall." She grinned at him and kicked a chair out for him to sit down.

"First Jounin mission today, eh? Excited?"

Sakura nodded softly. "Just a little nervous…After all the years of getting my ass saved by my team members I just can't help but wonder if…"

"If you deserve the rank? Shit Sakura, remember, I fought you in the final test of the exam, not only did you make me feel as if my spine was broken in a thousand places after you threw me across the stadium, but you came and healed me after!. Don't worry, I know you can hold your own, otherwise I would come on to you a bit more." He winked.

She laughed at him softly as they began to discuss the finer points in their exam battle. They were suddenly interrupted by the appearance of a Chuunin at their side. He bowed to Sakura and said hurriedly, "Sakura-san, Hokage-sama wishes for you to meet with her immediately." Genma raised an eyebrow at her from across the table, she shrugged back at him.

"Guess I better go, If you see Kakashi and Naruto tell them where I am?"

Genma nodded and raised a hand in farewell as she walked quickly out of the building. He leaned over in his chair following her form out of the door. "Damn that pink haired kunoichi, why can't she be a few years older?" He thought to himself, letting out a low whistle.

"Staring at my student?" A figure suddenly appeared beside Genma, his hands in his pockets gazing through his one uncovered eye at the other Jounin lazily. Genma grinned up at him at the protectiveness Kakashi showed for his student.

"Kakashi, on time for once! And hey, she's a Jounin now, no Sensei's or subordinates here. In a couple of years she'll be eligible. How old is she, 16?"

"17."

"Ah, only one birthday then. By the way, she got a summons from Hokage-sama…"

"I know, I received a scroll from the Hokage. She won't be joining Naruto and me today, her med-nin skills are needed elsewhere."

"You seem disappointed." Genma pointed out to the tall, lean figure.

"I was kind of looking forward to being on her first mission, she worked hard for it you know."

Genma stretched his back and grimaced at a popping noise in his spine. "Yeah, I do know. I know those pops in my spine aren't from old age."

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Sakura entered the Hokage's office and bowed to the Legendary Sannin across the desk. She hoped Naruto and Kakashi wouldn't have to wait that long for her. Although Kakashi would of course be late, she was looking forward to going on her first Jounin mission with her former Sensei and teammate. "Too bad the third teammate couldn't be here…" She thought to herself, quickly shaking the thought out of her head. She still loved Sasuke, and missed him. But he had betrayed the Konoha village. It was her responsibility to protect her village, especially now that she had become a Jounin. She knew that if she ever came across the missing-nin, it would be her duty to either kill him or bring him back, no matter what her past.

The Hokage looked up at the pink haired kunoichi and rested her head on her hands. Sakura caught a glimpse of…apprehensiveness in her eyes before they settled back into the cool, calm mask of the 5th Hokage.

"Sakura, your med-nin abilities are needed elsewhere. You may choose to refuse this mission. However, the med-nin assigned is ill and cannot go. This mission is very important for Konoha. Before you decide, I wish for you to know how much we need you for this."

Sakura's face twisted into a confused expression at the Hokage's words. "Decide? I thought we were obligated to do whatever mission we're assigned unless it's…" Comprehension dawned on her face. The only mission that a shinobi could refuse was the top-most level of missions, ones where your information was limited, your enemies were stronger than you, and the chance for survival was small.

"Yes, Haruno. It's an unranked mission."


	3. We Meet Again

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto the anime or Naruto the Manga. I do own this fanfic however.

:Sorry about the first 2 chapters, as I just now realized that my dividers didn't transfer over, heh. It should be fixed in this chapter though, and I'll be fixing the other as well. Enjoy:

Chapter 3: We Meet Again

Sakura stepped out of the shower, emerging from the steam into the cool air of her apartment. She quickly wrapped a towel around her scar ridden body and dried all of the water from her skin. Away from the stinging sensation of the scalding water, she felt cold again, as if she was disassociated from her body, watching it go through the motions of lying down in the bed and covering her body with the black comforter. It was the same with killing. Every time she took a life she disconnected her mind from the actions of her body. She knew that the last seconds of the lives of the Missing-nin she hunted were spent looking up into green eyes that appeared to have no soul attached.

This was not a newly acquired skill. She had learned it quickly after her first kill, after staring down into the lifeless eyes of the Uchiha, the sharingan faded into a dull, black ocean. She had fallen to the ground, her chakra filled hand still inside the chest cavity of the body. She had laid there on the ground that was quickly being saturated with the same blood that trailed out of the Uchiha chest and over her right arm…laid there, eyes open wide in disbelief at what she had just done, feeling her own blood drip down her face from the kunai would under her eye. Her body had trembled uncontrollably and tears had coursed down her face. But never again would she have that weakness. Never again would she cry over a dead body. Even as she had stared down on the bodies of her mother and father, realizing that no healing jutsu would save them, she had not cried a single tear, just closed her eyes and said to herself, "Stay in control…keep breathing…"

With the thoughts of her parents swimming through her head, she stared up at the stark white ceiling, seeing faces she would never see again. She turned over and switched off the bedside lamp and slowly drifted off into a restless sleep, exhaustion the only thing keeping her eyes closed as the images started flooding her sleep, images of death, nightmares she couldn't escape. Unknown to her barely sleeping body, a Jounin clothed form watched her through the window.

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Kakashi had just come in from a mission that had taken him away from Konoha for nearly 2 years. He had been in an under cover position in the Sand Country, observing the new Kazekage who had replaced Gaara after his death. The new Kazekage had yet to make any sort of alliances with Konoha, unlike what Gaara had done during his ruling period. So the Hokage had sent over Kakashi to monitor the situation, in case the Kazekage was entertaining thoughts of attacking Konoha. He had yet to report to Tsunade on the results of the extensive mission, as she was asleep with her head down on her desk when he walked in. He figured he'd wait till the next day to report. Besides, he wanted some time to rest after the long journey back from the Sand.

As he was walking down the streets toward his own apartment he noticed something up ahead, an ANBU in full uniform on a Sunday, walking at a brisk pace towards an apartment building near his. She was a kunoichi he guessed, from the shape of her lithe form, a kunoichi in a very good physical state. There was something vaguely familiar about her, though he couldn't see her face behind the white mask she wore. As she turned to the building and slipped inside it struck him what was so familiar about the ANBU. A long pink braid hung down her back, the ends darkened by…

"Blood?" He questioned to himself. Sakura an ANBU? He knew she had trained with Hokage-sama for several years, but he never thought Sakura would choose the path of ANBU. The elite assassination squad was known for its cold and precise method of killing and he had always considered Sakura to be an emotional girl. He knew that she had become rather withdrawn after she killed Sasuke on her first Jounin mission, but he had left shortly there after for his last mission, expecting she would just need some time to get used to the feeling of having taken a life. He had actually thought the experience would probably turn her away from the shinobi life completely.

Kakashi stood in the street, scratching his head for a moment and then entered the apartment building across from the one Sakura had just entered. He quickly flew up the stairs and dug through a pouch for the key to a room he hadn't entered in nearly two years. As he opened the door a musky smell of unused entered his nose. Sure enough, there was a film of dust on every surface of the apartment. He sighed as he dropped his pack to the floor, thinking about the job it would be to clean up the room. He then turned to the bathroom and turned on the water as hot as it would go.

While he waited for the water to heat up a bit, Kakashi walked over to the other side of his one room apartment and pulled a framed picture off of a shelf, wiping off the coat of grime on the sleeve of his shirt. Two young men stood glaring at each other over the head of the pink haired girl standing in between them with a look up complete happiness on her face. He thought about where his 3 former students were now. One was dead. One was off training with Jiraiya. One was across the street from him, though he never would have recognized her if it wasn't for the abnormal coloring of her hair. Sakura had definitely changed from that person in the picture if she had become ANBU.

He showered quickly, wanting to get to bed as soon as possible so he could be up early to deliver his report to Tsunade-sama. However, as he walked over to his window to open it to allow some fresh air into the musty apartment, he noticed something. Across the street, her window directly across from his, was Sakura, climbing into bed. He watched her carefully as she laid on her back, eyes open staring at the ceiling for a few moments before finally reaching over to shut off her lamp and submerging the room in darkness. He stayed at his window a little while, wondering what all had happened while he was gone from Konoha.

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Sakura was up before the sun the next morning. If she was forbidden to do missions for 3 days then she would spend the time training as much as possible. She dressed in the quiet dark of her apartment, discarding her ANBU uniform for the training clothes she barely had time to wear, as she was usually on missions. The dark pants and sleeveless top hung on her frame. She raised an eyebrow. "Apparently I've lost weight." She mused to herself. It wasn't surprising, she would often forget to eat while out on missions, her mind too consumed by tracking whatever missing-nin she was currently after.

The kunoichi dressed her right leg with wrappings and attached her kunai holster. She grabbed some of her shuriken and her katana, deciding to train her projectile and sword skills today during her forced "resting" period. She then pulled her hair back into a quick braid and adjusted her forehead protector before slipping out the door to head to the training grounds.

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Kakashi knocked lightly on the door to the Hokage's office and then waited for her answer before stepping inside. He could barely see the top of her blonde head over a stack of papers and folders. He didn't envy the Sannin for her position. He hated doing paperwork. She stood up at his presence and waved him over to the chair in front of her desk. As he sat down, she removed a stack of papers allowing them a view of each other.

"Report."

"The Sand is indeed planning something, and I do not believe it to be in the best interests of Konoha. I managed to pick up some very useful information about the Kazekge contacting the Hidden Mist."

"The Hidden Mist?"

Kakashi nodded. "He has had representatives from their village staying at the palace of the Kazekage for nearly a year. He has a few more that come and go from the Sand Country."

"I suspected as much, but I didn't think he would join with Hidden Mist. This will complicate matters indeed. It seems the new Kazekage does not want peace for his country, like Gaara, but power. Any other highlights?"

"Hai. He has also started executions of citizens that speak against him. If he's not careful he will start a civil war with his people."

"Hmm..perhaps a civil war to overthrow the Kazekage would work to our advantage. You are free to go Kakashi, but I'd like your written report tomorrow, with all your contact information within the Sand." Tsunade flicked her wrist in dismissal at the Jounin.

"Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade looked up to see that Kakashi was still standing in the room. "Hai?"

"I saw Sakura last night. How is she? She seemed…different."

"Different is a good word. One could also say cold or inhuman. Killing Sasuke was hard enough on her, but the death of her parents completely changed her into what you saw last night."

"I noticed the ANBU uniform. Not something I would have expected from her."

"Hai, she just came in last night from a mission. She made ANBU about a month after her parents' death. She's currently a Hunter-nin. Ironic isn't it?"

He nodded mutely before turning to leave the office.

"Take some time off Kakashi, but I'd like for you to be at ANBU headquarters in 3 days. We'll need you to help plan what to do with the Kazekage. And try to go talk to Sakura. No one else has gotten more than a nod or a bow out of her for months."

He paused for a moment, turning back to raise an eyebrow at the Hokage.

"She's somewhat of a loner and takes any unranked mission she hears of. She's not even in the village for more than a few days at a time, and only when I make her or refuse to allow her to do missions. She's currently on a 3 day break."

"I'll try to go see her. Will she be at her apartment?"

"No, she'll be at the training ground near the cherry trees."

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Sakura stood at the same training grounds where Kakashi-sensei had first tested them fresh out of the Ninja Academy. The post on the left still had a cluster of shuriken in the wood, the post on the right had a cluster of kunai, and she currently stood in front of the middle post, practicing some taijutsu. She had thought to train with her katana for a little while, but had decided her hand to hand combat needed to be trained a little more. She could not always depend on having the blade.

She counted her punches as she struck the post over and over again, only barely aware that her knuckles were bleeding from the strikes against the hard wooden surface. The pain was minimal, so her mind didn't register it at all. Sakura had long ago learned to ignore small pains, such as cuts, bruises or aching muscles. She closed her eyes momentarily and paused as she registered the presence of chakra in her vicinity. It wasn't a threatening presence, so she returned to her taijutsu training.

"341…342…343…344…"

Suddenly the chakra moved from being around a hundred yards off to being right behind her. She sun around quickly, sending chakra to her right foot as she kicked out at the presence behind her, only to have her it blocked by a masked ninja with a look of surprise on his face.

"Kakashi."

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His mind took notice of the sensei dropped from his name. "That would've hurt you know."

"You should not sneak up on people when they're training."

"Do you always aim to kill people who disrupt you?"

"Depends on what kind of chakra I sense. If I'd sensed someone weaker I might have just broken a knee or something."

He nodded. So she had sensed him back in the trees.

"Congratulations on ANBU, I only just found out about your accomplishment as a Hunter-nin. And I wanted to say…I'm sorry…for not being here…"

"Not being here for what?"

"Itachi's attempted kidnapping. I heard about your parents."

The kunoichi didn't answer him in any way and instead turned around and went back to hitting the post. He took the opportunity to look over the changes in her. She was thin, too thin. He could tell the clothes she wore had been bought when she was at a healthier size. Her hair had grown out even longer than the last time he had seen her and was put back away from her face in a single braid. He noticed several new scars on her bare arms, some of them looking much fresher than others. But the biggest change was her eyes. When she had turned to kick him her eyes had remained cold and indifferent, not even anger or annoyance in them. And they had stayed that way the entire way through their short conversation.

He watched her as she continued her training. Her Taijutsu had always been below average as she had always lacked stamina and strength. It seemed she no longer struggled with hand to hand combat. The kick she had delivered could have knocked him back several hundred feet had he not been able to block it. He watched her fist drive into the wood over and over when he noticed something.

"You're bleeding." He stated, looking pointedly at her knuckles.

She paused and turned around to face the copy ninja again. She stood tall and crossed her arms over her chest, not saying anything, just staring at him. He finally decided to say something else, since she obviously was waiting for him to leave. He racked his mind for something he might get her to talk about.

"I heard you're on a forced vacation as well."

She raised an eyebrow at the Jounin. "Hai, Hokage-sama thought I needed to rest. Has she assumed the same thing of you?"

He nodded. "Though I must admit, it's nice to be home for a little while after being gone for so long. I've been in sand for nearly—"

"Two years." She finished for him, staring off into the forest.

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Sakura was screaming inside her mind, barely able to keep her exterior cool and calm. Seeing Kakashi was like stepping back 8 years ago. He looked exactly as she remembered him, still tall and thin, slouching with his hands in his pockets. She had pushed her past away. There were too many regrets in the past, too much pain and suffering. And now her former Sensei had walked back in and thrown her severely off balance, making her fight to stay collected and cold in front of him.

"You're too thin." He stated, his eye sliding down her body.

"Sometimes I forget to eat. What's your excuse?"

"Eh, I mean to eat but then I get lost, on the road of life…"

She couldn't help it, that small piece of happiness that she remembered from her childhood came back to her all of a sudden, and before she could stop herself, she smiled a little bit. It was more of a smirk than anything, but the feeling growing inside her caused her to pause before speaking. This was Kakashi, her sensei, her mentor. She had sworn to cut off all ties with her past, all the people she had been close to. And yet here she was carrying on a conversation with the Copy Ninja himself. Suddenly, her mask was back across her face, her eyes once again indifferent.

"I'm training. If I'm made to stay here, I will at least work to better myself during my imprisonment. Perhaps you should do the same."

"Perhaps I should." He responded vaguely as he turned and walked away.

She watched him slowly walk away till he was about 50 feet from her. He stopped and called back to her.

"Fight me."

Sakura tried to keep the surprise out of her voice.

"Are you sure? You don't know me that well anymore. I've picked up new…tricks."

He slowly turned around to face her once more and nodded. "But if you lose you have to have lunch with me."

She considered the offer carefully. She knew Kakashi was good, being a master of ninjutsu. He was also incredibly fast and possessed the Sharingan. But she was not the same Sakura he taught, she was not the same Sakura he watched in the Jounin exam 3 years before. She knew why he was here anyway. He had obviously been sent by Tsunade-sama. She could end the fight quickly and then maybe he could report back to the Hokage what everyone else already knew, that she was unreachable.

"Alright."

Author's Note: Thank you to my reviewers thus far, I hope to pick up more. This is my first Naruto Fanfic, and I would indeed enjoy some constructive critisism.


	4. Of Battle and Towels

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Naruto

Chapter 4: Some Sparring Practice

Kakashi nearly had to strain to hear the whispered response of his former student. He watched as she took a defensive stance, noting that she didn't pull out any sort of weapon. He remained, slouching and watching her lazily, as he reached with his left hand and pulled up his forehead protector. The exposed red eye watched Sakura carefully as she raised an eyebrow from across the training field. She smirked as she watched him return his hand to his pocket.

"Good. I was afraid you might be tempted to hold back. Maybe pull out your illicit reading material."

"Ah, well I'm waiting on the new edition to come out."

Sakura suddenly disappeared from the spot, his sharingan eye seeing her dart to the left. Her speed had increased greatly, he could only guess that she was most likely just as fast as he was, if not faster. Had he not possessed the sharingan, he wouldn't have caught her direction at all. He felt her chakra behind him and quickly turned to face her, just as her left foot came up to meet his face. He blocked the taijutsu easily and responded with a hit towards her abdomen which she blocked with one hand, performing seals with the other.

"One handed seals? When did she pick that up?" Kakashi thought to himself. His sharingan caught what she intended to do before the words came out of her mouth, and he prepared to be attacked on all sides.

"Kage Bunshin no Justu!"

He was surrounded by 3 other pink haired shinobi now, but instead of attacking him immediately, they stood, waiting for his attack against them. He turned to the real Sakura and commented,

"Wanting to keep it taijutsu?"

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Sakura just stared back stoically at her former sensei, surrounded by her shadow clones. Of course she intended to keep the battle taijutsu, her ninjutsu was not her best skills, and with the Sharingan, He would obviously have the immediate advantage with genjutsu. However there was an element to her taijutsu fighting style that she was positive he would not expect her to use.

"Of course, Kakashi." As she affirmed his assumption, she channeled chakra to her hands and watched them glow blue with a satisfactory look on her face. She glanced back up to Kakashi to see a look of understanding on his face.

"Ah, medical jutsu? Impressive. I knew you studied with Hokage-sama, but I didn't see this during Jounin testing."

"That's because at that point, I could only use them to heal tissue, not destroy it. Hokage-sama didn't offer to teach it to me till after I became ANBU, believing it was too high skilled and dangerous. Of course, by that time I had already started working out how to manage it on my own."

"Dangerous?"

She shrugged. "The channeling of the chakra has to be precise. Since you are attempting to destroy tissue with it, if it is not done properly, you will destroy the tissues of your own hands before you can even attempt to strike your opponent.

"But enough discussion of techniques, Kakashi. You wanted to fight." She lifted her hands, blue chakra coursing over them in a defensive stance once more and motioned to him with two fingers, the international sign for "Come and get it."

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Kakashi knew that clones were only there, circling him, to distract him from the real Sakura that stood about 7 feet away from him, hands glowing with the dangerous chakra flowing around them. However, he would have to get rid of the annoyances before he could focus on the more dangerous med-nin in front of him. Perhaps they sensed him formulating a plan, because suddenly all the cloned Sakura's ran toward him at top speed. He hurriedly flew through the hand symbols and created a match for each clone to fight with before advancing on the blue handed Sakura, who had a look of cold detachment on her face, almost a look of disinterest, as if she were fighting some Genin and was already bored with the combat. His mind barely registered the several small pops of destroyed clones as he advanced on her.

He ran straight towards her, not stopping or slowing in any way, his hands up in a semi defensive position. She delivered a tissue-tearing blow to the form in front of her, a look of suspicion on her face as she noticed his lack of defense. As the blow landed on his body he dissolved into…

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"Leaves?" Sakura calmed her mind and tried to sense his chakra from around the area, replacing the slightly confused look on her face with the previous mask of disinterest. She stretched her senses out, feeling for any disturbance in the air, closing her eyes serenely, as if lying down to sleep. Suddenly, she heard a whispered voice, sounding as if it were coming from right behind her.

"You look bored, Sakura, by the look on your face. Or should I say the mask on your face?"

"I copied it from you." She replied harshly, not bothering to turn around to where the supposed voice was coming from. She still could not sense his chakra anywhere in the near vicinity. He was most likely off somewhere in the distance using a voice projection jutsu to try and get her to turn around, while he most likely came up on her from the direction she would have to turn her back on. She would not be fooled by such a simple plan. Rather than turning around confused to hunt the whispered voice, she kept up her hunt for a trace of his chakra. Suddenly she felt a sharp prick on her neck, as a gloved hand held a kunai up to her throat, effectively trapping her momentarily.

"Never doubt your enemy's ability to mask their chakra from you."

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Kakashi was surprised, after seeing the skill level she had demonstrated that she was now caught by a mere chakra-masking jutsu. She just stood in front of him, her body rigid, and he knew that if he were to turn her around to face him he would see the same indifferent mask on her face. She had become quite good at masking herself, although he had only observed her a short time and had already caused her to have to check her emotions a few times, while he lazily watched her face flicker the barest trace of emotion before it was replaced by a shield that was just as effective as her ANBU mask. Suddenly an idea came to him of what he could do that he knew would knock the mask of for at least a few moments. Kakashi leaned back down against the much shorter woman and put his lips against her ear. He felt her body tense up even more as she could feel his breath whisper through her hair, brushing softly across her ear.

"I win."

He was going to pull the kunai away when Sakura disappeared and left in her wake dozens of cherry blossoms floating in the breeze. He saw her reappear, bending over across the training field from him to pick up a katana, which she strapped to her back, before turning around and walking off in the opposite direction, back toward the streets of Konoha.

"My mask of indifference, my dissolving into leaves, or in your case blossoms, trick. My my, Sakura. They should call you the copy ninja."

"I don't have time for this anymore." She tossed calmly back over her shoulder as she walked slowly back toward her apartment.

He thought momentarily to leave her alone and perhaps seek her out later, but decided that since, in a way, this was a mission, he should treat it with the utmost of importance until he was done with his "rest". His mind made up, he turned and walked off of the training field, following her from a distance. Making sure to stay back far enough to where she probably wouldn't sense that she was being followed at all. He knew now, after judging both her new found coldness and her fighting skills that she was very much a changed person, and it would be unwise to underestimate her abilities.

Kakashi rounded a corner of the street to see the kunoichi enter her apartment building, presumably to shower and change after a day of training. As he lounged back on a park bench in front of his own apartment complex, he decided to give her a half hour. After that he would assume that she wasn't coming back out for the evening and he would go in after her.

The Sakura he had just interacted with disturbed him, she wasn't the 12 year old Genin that he had trained so long ago, she didn't even resemble the Chuunin he had watched fight her way to the title of Jounin with pride. However, he had seen glimpses of that bright eyed and cheerful, caring girl, something apparently no one else had seen since the death of her parents. Perhaps, because of his past mentor-student relationship with her, he stood a chance of breaking through to that girl that she had locked away. In a way, Sakura reminded him of himself, and how he had locked the emotional side of himself away after the suicide of his father, preferring to keep cool detachment in missions and ridiculing those who expressed their emotions. But he had found a way to cope, learning that particular lesson from Obito and Rin, and they had helped to break through his own cold exterior. Though he still preferred to mask his emotions, he doesn't do it to the extreme of the emotionally scarred hunter-nin up in her apartment. The once light filled sea green eyes of Sakura were now dull and lifeless.

He sighed heavily, thinking 3 days wasn't enough to accomplish this kind of mission. She had experienced too much loss and emotional hell in too short of a period of time. He reached into a pocket of his green vest and pulled out a copy of Icha Icha Paradise and settled down to wait another 25 minutes.

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Sakura unstrapped her katana and laid it carefully on a table near the door of her apartment, while at the same time stepping out of her sandals. She hadn't trained to her satisfaction this afternoon, due mainly to the interruption by Kakashi. She figured she'd come in quick for a shower and then run some errands. If she wasn't allowed to take missions for 3 days, she would need to stock up her apartment. Her cupboards were bare, save for a container of cup ramen that had been there for at least a year. Her refrigerator was also empty except for a bottle of red wine she had received as a gift for her 20th birthday. Sakura decided to head up to the market after her shower to purchase some non perishable items that were edible. She needed food for the next few days, but didn't want to overstock with things that could perish, as she definitely planned to be back on missions as soon as this forced vacation was over and done with.

Sakura pulled the ill fitting shirt off over her head as she walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She slid the rest of her clothes off and looked at her body in the full length mirror of her bathroom. Her body, traced with the scars of refusing to allow treatment on herself, was overly thin and bony. Her hip bones jutted out against her skin, and she could count every rib of her torso. She was skin and bones and muscle. Of course, she wasn't anorexic or anything. She ate enough to keep up her strength on missions, but sometimes, when caught up in the chase of a missing-nin, she would forget to eat, relying on her own increased stamina and adrenaline to last through lengthy combat. She eyed the crumpled pile of clothing on the floor warily. She would need to go pick up some new clothing while she was out. The clothing that used to fit her naturally curvaceous frame was now way too big. She thought back to Kakashi's statement on her current size. Not that he could talk much, he was also thin.

The thought of Kakashi reminded her of the agreement from the training ground. Technically, by walking away from the fight, she forfeited, meaning he had won the battle. Which means she owed him lunch. Actually, she was surprised that he hadn't followed her back from the training grounds, the Kakashi she knew would most likely be relentless in the retrieval of something that he had won. She sighed and stepped into the shower. She most likely would see him around again, then she could go have ramen with him or something and then he could leave her alone. She knew the Hokage had sent him to try and talk to her, and maybe lunch with him would satisfy the ninja in the mission. Although, she had to admit, it was rather nice to see Kakashi. He reminded her of early Genin days, when it was her, Naruto and Sasuke…She had been weaker than, but she had been content. Now she had strength, she was one of the top ANBU in Konaha. She had finally mastered the one shinobi rule that she had lacked discipline over when she was a Genin and Chuunin. The one rule, that was the key to her becoming the best ninja she could be. She had learned to master her emotions, to sheathe them like her katana and tuck them away from her conscious thought.

Sakura stepped out of the shower and started drying herself off, wrapping a towel around her long pink tresses and one around her waist, she opened the bathroom door to get dressed to go shopping. As she looked out from the steamy bathroom however, her jaw dropped down in shock.

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Kakashi glanced up to the sky. Sakura's 30 minutes were up. He carefully closed Icha Icha Paradise and slid it back into a pocket of his green vest. He crossed the street to the pink haired ninja's apartment building and quickly climbed up the stairs to her floor, using the position of her bedroom window to guide him to the correct apartment. As he approached the door he assumed to be hers, he masked his chakra once more then quietly tested the doorknob to see if it was locked. It wasn't. He quietly came in and shut the door softly behind him, before walking across the studio style apartment to recline back in a chair at the foot of her bed in front of one of the 3 windows that faced his apartment building.

Kakashi's chair faced the bathroom, where he knew her to be, based not only on her chakra or the sound of running water, but the fact that there was steam coming out from under the door. "Must take hot showers like me." He thought to himself as he heard the water shut off. He aited patiently, figuring it'd take her a few moments to put on clothes and then he would tell her he'd come to take her out to lunch, as was the deal. Maybe he could get her to talk to him over a bowl of ramen. He heard the doorknob turn on the bathroom door, and stared lazily across the room, ready to face the kunoichi. The door opened, and there stood Sakura.

In a towel that draped around her waist, hugging her hips and nothing else.

Kakashi had quite a clear picture of her naked upper body, riddled with scars, and her jaw dropping down in shock before he averted his gaze up to the ceiling, while she quickly pulled the towel up to cover her entire torso. He was trying to get the image out of his head, but it seemed Sakura's 20 year old naked upper body, complete with towel wrapped cutely around her hair, was burned into his brain. He groaned inwardly and managed to shake the image out of his head. She was his student, for Kami's sake. She was more than a decade younger than him. And she was currently glaring at him from across the room.

"What the hell are you doing in my apartment Kakashi?"

---Author's Note--- Yeah, sorry for the large gap in updating. Although I'm not going to college right now due to some family issues, I do have to maintain a job to maintain my residence, so I've been somewhat busy lately. I'm also looking for a beta for this story. My Boyfriend was going to do it, but we broke up and his time is now occupied by some form of extracurricular activity known as 'Mia'. So anyone interested, email me. I'm trying my best to keep people in charactor, but it would be a big help to have a second opinion on the matter.

Thanks bunches for reading, and remember to drop a little contribution in the review box!

-realta


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